How Fragile We Are
by Ultima Veritas
Summary: Emily was a normal girl except for the dreams that she began to have. Her life was normal:go to work, deal with her friend Alex, and avoid her ex Derek. She was doing perfectly fine until the dreams started and then it all went crazy.
1. Prologue

Katherine let out a gasp when she saw the house that her lover, for lack of a better term, was leading her to. It was a two story house built in the Victorian style and was settled in the middle of a giant property, it must have been at least 20 plus acres but that was just a guess on Katherine's part. She never was very good at guessing things like that but she was pretty sure she was right this time.

"There's a lake out in the back and a horse stable, I know how much you want some horses," he said to her when she snapped out of her amazement. He began to lead her around the back of the house so she could see the back patio along with the pasture where horses could roam free. The stable was also back there and Katherine noted the farm that in the large back yard as well. Katherine couldn't believe how huge the whole place was especially when she knew that he would be leaving her soon. Suddenly the many acres made no sense to her; it was too big unless he wasn't leaving her.

He turned them around to enter the house from the back door which led them straight into the kitchen/dining room. He informed her that there was also a formal dining room for holidays and get-togethers. He told her that there were four bedrooms and 3 baths, the master bedroom had a private stairwell that led to another room that could be converted to a bedroom if needed. Katherine silently mused that she would probably just make that room a library. When they reached the living room Katherine finally broke the silence that had come over them.

"Do you have to leave?" Katherine whispered to him as he led her through the room. The grief she was feeling came back full force at the thought of him leaving.

"I have to, I am needed back—" he trailed off when he realized that he didn't consider where he was going to be home anymore. He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment in the past year when home had become wherever Katherine was. And as much as he wanted to voice that thought, he couldn't unless he wanted to be severely punished. Although he knew he would be punished nonetheless just for having this relationship with Katherine, so many rules had been broken just in this year alone but there was still one rule that he had not broken in their relationship. One rule that he planned to break before he left; one rule that would make his punishment even worse when he broke it.

"Why you though? There are plenty of others that can go," Katherine pleaded while allowing him to gently lead her upstairs to what she knew would be the bedroom. She really didn't want to see that room when she knew she would break down.

"They need me specifically, and you know that I can't disobey them," he said, leading her to the bed that stood in the center of the room. Katherine quietly mused to herself that the room was a little too big for one person. In fact, the whole house was too big for just her.

"If you can't disobey then why are you still here?" Katherine asked. Her answer was him pulling her closer to him, his arms around her waist. "What are you doing?"She looked up at him, eyes wide in confusion. He looked at her with the same intense look he always had before humoring her with an answer.

"I was allowed one more night with you before I have to go," he explained in something that was akin to a whisper for him. He never had really grasped the concept of lowering his voice to an actual whisper. He reached behind her to free her hair from the braid that she had it in, running his hand through her brown hair once it was undone. Katherine had a stray thought that she should be insulted by the very idea of having a pity night, but she would take whatever she could before he left.

Katherine laid back on the bed, pulling him with her, glad that she had decided to forgo the many underskirts that were the fashion. She honestly had no idea what she was doing, but she knew for a fact that he didn't either. She let out a gasp when he focused his attention on the spot at the top of her neck and whispered his name before—

She woke up.


	2. Chapter 1

It's new story time, which calls for a disclaimer as always. I don't own anything related to Supernatural because Eric Kripke owns it all and I can only wish that I owned something from this amazing show. Also, all of the street names and restaurants that are named in this chapter and maybe the next few chapters are real. And now without further ado, because it took a long time to finish this chapter, here's the official Chapter 1 of How Fragile We Are.

**Chapter One**

Emily woke up, gasping for air as she came out of her dream. She had been having the same dream every night for the past two weeks. For fourteen nights Emily had dreamt through Katherine's eye, always waking up before she learned the man's name. The suspense was more than annoying to Emily, she had no idea what her mind was trying to tell her with these dreams. Maybe to get a boyfriend which is something everyone at work was telling her to do.

Emily jumped suddenly and turned towards her nightstand where her phone was going off loudly. She grabbed it and briefly took notice of the time before answering it. This was the fourth night in a row where she woke up at five which was not enough sleep for her when she didn't get home until eleven, falling asleep at midnight.

"What's up?"Emily said into the phone, not sure if she should be upset with her friend for playing a part in her waking up.

"Hey Em, you awake?" Her friend, Alex, responded sounding way too peppy for the time of day it was. Emily fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"No, I'm sleep talking to you…of course I'm awake!" Emily knew she was being a tad bit more sarcastic than needed, but she was tired damn it!

"Don't take that tone with me, you're the one who asked me to call you this damn early," Alex replied, still sounding way too chipper. Emily didn't know how she did it but then again Alex had normal work hours whereas Emily had the night shift at the hospital.

"Oh right, sorry I forgot. I'm just so damn tired from all these dreams where my brain won't even let me know the guy's name," Emily explained as she flopped back down on her bed and let out a groan.

"Did you wake up right when you were going to get down to business?" Alex asked bluntly. Emily had to let out a little laugh at Alex's bluntness about the whole situation. Then again, why shouldn't she be that blunt? They were, after all, only random dreams that didn't mean anything.

"Do I have to answer that?" Emily responded while trying to get rid of the tangles in her hair. It was pretty much a lost cause but she kept trying.

"You don't have to answer it over the phone," Alex started. "But you do have to answer to my face." Before Emily had a chance to question what she meant the doorbell rang throughout her apartment.

"Please tell me that's not you," Emily groaned while slowing getting up from her bed.

"Okay, then I won't tell you," Alex chirped before hanging up. Emily trudged to the front door, yanking it open to reveal Alex.

"Why the hell are you here so damn early? I only asked you to call me." Emily asked, moving out of the way so Alex could come in. She shut the door while Alex went straight to the kitchen where she sat on one of the bar stools. Alex spun around to face Emily who walked around the bar top to the refrigerator.

"I can't visit my best friend without having ulterior motives?" Emily grabbed the orange juice from the fridge, placed it on the counter and turned to look at Alex with a raised eyebrow. She continued to look at her friend while opening the freezer to pull out the box of Eggo's. "Alright! So I have an ulterior motive," Alex admitted. "You need to get dressed because today's a shopping day that will be followed by a party night."

"Alexandria Rodriguez, is this another plot of yours to hook me up with some random guy?" Emily scolded, pouring two glasses of OJ. She handed one to Alex before turning back to the counter to pop some Eggo's into the toaster.

"No, this time it's different! I'm just taking you out to a club, no guys lined up to meet you," Alex explained. Emily nodded, satisfied with the response and grabbed the Eggo's that popped up.

"Good, because it was really awkward the last time you set me up," Emily shuddered when she thought about the last guy.

"He was…nice, "Alex struggled to defend the poor guy.

"He was like a puppy! The guy pretty much followed me everywhere except for the bathroom, "Emily exclaimed. Alex had no comeback for that comment.

"Okay so he was a bad choice," Alex said, downing her juice before jumping off the bar stool. "But we're going out tonight and you will enjoy it." Alex bounded over to the living room to wait, picking up the remote from where it was.

"Yeah, sure I will." Emily rolled her eyes but did go to her room to change, handing Alex two Eggo's on her way.

"Stop your whining! It's been a year already," Alex shouted in the general direction of Emily's room. She clicked on the TV and was pleasantly surprised to see that Top 20 Countdown was on. It didn't even matter to her that she had missed the first half of the show; there was never really anything worth listening to in the bottom 10. Emily walked out of her room, carrying her purse in one hand and her shoes in the other. She plopped down next to Alex and began to pull on her shoes before stopping short. The time finally hit her, it still wasn't six. It was way too early to leave; places would just be opening and wouldn't be ready to start serving people. Emily tossed her shoes back onto the floor and stared at the TV screen.

"It's too damn early to go anywhere," she complained, paying no attention to what came in at number eight. Alex rolled her eyes at her best friend's overreaction. She was used to it though; fifteen years of friendship would do that. So her response to Emily's reaction was simple; she raised the volume. Emily sent a glare her way that was shrugged off.

"If we're not leaving, I'm getting at least another hour of sleep," Emily laid down on the couch, curling up to bring some warmth. It was unusually cold this year even though it wasn't winter yet.

"Fine, you have another hour." Alex said, still paying more attention to the TV. Emily mumbled an unintelligible response, determined to get more sleep.

"That's what you get for being a nurse with the night shift," Alex sang out which earned her a pillow to the face. "You have great aim for someone mostly asleep."

"And you can't shut up for five minutes," Emily muttered, still curled up with her eyes closed. "So shut up before I throw something that will hurt." Alex held her hands up in surrender even though Emily couldn't see it.

"Alright, shutting up now." By some miracle Alex was able to shut up for the remainder of the hour. Of course as soon as the hour was up she began to talk a million miles a minute. Emily slowly woke up, stretching almost like a cat before she sat up and stared blankly at the TV.

"Is it seven already?" Emily asked, shaking her head to clear it of sleep.

"Yep, so wake up sleepyhead! It's time for breakfast, "Alex changed the channel to a recorded episode of Grey's Anatomy. "Why do you watch this crap?" Emily got up and began to pull her shoes on.

"I like to laugh at all of the mistakes," Emily said as she finished tying her shoe. "I don't feel like going to IHOP, want to go to The Original Donut Shop?"

"Hell yeah! We haven't been there in forever and I already hear one of those donuts calling my name, "Alex jumped up from the couch and turned off the TV.

"You can have as many donuts as you want as long as you get a taco as well, "Emily said as she grabbed a jacket from its place on the back of a dining room chair. She had also put on the minimum amount of makeup, just enough to cover the dark circles under her eyes. Alex rushed to put on her shoes, raring to go.

"Whose car are we going in?" Emily asked, ushering Alex out of the apartment so she could lock the door.

"Let's take yours, we've taken mine these last few times," Alex replied as they walked down the hallway to the elevator. "Have I ever mentioned how jealous I am of your apartment?" Alex hit the down button and they waited for the elevator to open.

"Only a few hundred times and I always remind you of how many overtime hours it took me to get this place," Emily answered. The elevator doors opened and the two of them stepped inside, Emily hit the button that would take them to the garage. Alex made a face of distaste at Emily's answer.

"And then the jealously always disappears." The elevator stopped, its doors opening letting the girls out. Thankfully Emily's car wasn't parked far because for once she was able to get a good parking spot when she got home from work. Her royal blue 1965 Mustang with its white racing stripes was her pride and joy, she made sure it was always in pristine condition. The car had originally belonged to her father but when he died, her mother had become the owner but when Lily Andrews met her early death in 2006 the car had gone to Emily.

Emily unlocked the driver's side door and climbed in, leaning over to unlock the passenger door for Alex. As soon as she got in, Alex rolled down her window. Emily shook her head and put the key in the ignition. The radio turned on, already set to 99.5 KISS.

"Hey, open the glove compartment and grab the Kamelot CD." Emily asked Alex as she began to pull out of the parking spot. Alex grabbed the CD case and put the CD in the player. Unlike most people who owned classic cars, Emily had decided not to keep the old school cassette playing radio and opted to update it so she could play her CDs.

"So how's work?" Emily asked over the sound of drums and guitars that started playing loudly. She began to nod her head to the music, ignoring the urge to start head banging mainly because she didn't feel like crashing.

"It still sucks, but what else is new?" Alex replied. Alex worked as at waitress down on the River Walk at the Rainforest Café which always proved to be busy with all the tourists that loved to stick with food they knew rather than going to other places. As much as she loved the tips she got sometimes, she really hated the people that she had to deal with. Just thinking about their stupid questions gave her a headache.

"I keep telling you, I can get you a job where Olivia works with one call." Emily moved into the lane over to the right, getting ready to take the Vance Jackson exit so they could stop by Starbucks before going to breakfast.

"Yes, because I _really_ want to work in the same place as a 17 year old," Alex muttered. The next track on the CD started up and Emily grinned as soon as she heard the guitars. Alex rolled her eyes and knew what was coming next.

_Someone to protect and be protected by  
When that certain fury would come  
Someone to respect and be respected by  
When deprivation took its toll on you  
No more to defend, fading away._

Emily sang along with the song and gave a look to Alex that said to join in. Alex looked back at Emily with a look of mock annoyance but joined in nonetheless.

_'Cause we were always alone,  
We were born in the hunter's season  
All I really ever wanted was for you  
You to die in the arms of someone._

Both of the girls sang the verse in something close to harmony. Emily stopped at the red light and put her left blinker on even though she was in a turn only lane; she knew how the drivers here were. The light turned green and Emily drove on, turning onto the access road so she could go into Starbucks while avoiding the Vance Jackson traffic since there was always a car blocking the entrance to the drive-thru. She drove up to the drive-thru, asked the worker to give her a minute and turned to Alex who turned the volume down.

"What will it be?" Emily had already turned back to the menu even though she knew what she would be getting.

"I'll have a venti hot chocolate," Alex gave Emily her order who called the worker back on the speaker. Alex opened her mouth to say something but Emily had already begun to order.

"Okay can I have a venti hot chocolate with soy milk and a grande white chocolate mocha with 2 percent milk," Emily ordered. Once the order was placed she drove up to the window to pay.

"How did you know to get soy milk?" Alex finally asked after Emily paid. Emily gave her a blank look.

"What don't I know about you? You always order your drinks with soy milk," Emily turned back to window to grab the drinks being handed to her. She handed Alex's drink to her and placed her own drink into one of the cup holders. The girls gave their thanks to the worker before Emily drove off to their next destination. She stayed on the access road so she could get to West Avenue. The next track began playing and both girls began to bob their heads along to the music. Emily turned on West Avenue and headed towards Hildebrand, once she reached that street she turned to get onto Fredericksburg. From there it was pretty much a straight shot to the restaurant and they would be there within ten minutes.

In about ten minute's time, Emily pulled into one of the parking spots next to a black Chevy Impala. She shut off the engine and let out a low whistle at the beauty of the car she was next to. Alex walked around the front to the sidewalk and shook her head at Emily's antics but she was used to it by now.

"That is one beautiful car," Emily said once she finished admiring it. In the back of her mind she thought about a pair of brothers that she knew but brushed those thoughts aside with anger. She joined Alex on the sidewalk and they walked into the restaurant. They were immediately met with the smells of fresh tortillas and donuts. Alex took in a deep breath and a smile came to her face.

"I love the smell of fresh tortillas in the morning!" Alex exclaimed throwing the hand that wasn't holding her hot chocolate up into the air. This exclamation caused half of the patrons to look over at them. Emily sighed and pushed Alex over to one of the free tables. There were two guys at the table next to them and Emily thought that they looked familiar but she shook the feeling away, after all this was a big city, there were a lot of people, and there would no way for them to find her.

"Alright, I'll get the tacos and then you can get the donuts, deal?" Emily said, setting her drink down on the table. Alex nodded in agreement while she took a drink of her own drink. Emily got up and went to go place their order. As soon as she left, Alex turned to the guys at the table next to them. They were cute and she was determined to get at least one of their numbers.

"Hey, are you two brothers?" She asked at the same time as the taller one.

"Is that girl's name Emily Andrews?" Alex paused at the guy's question. These two didn't look like anyone that Emily would know unless she met them at work; she did meet some weird people there.

"Uh…so who answers first?" Emily looked back and forth between the two guys waiting for an answer of some kind.

"Yeah, we're brothers," the taller one who asked the earlier question. The both of them then looked at Alex for her answer. She turned around to see where Emily was and saw that she was still far back in the line. She turned back to the guys to answer their question.

"Yeah, her name is Emily Andrews. How do you know her?" Alex pretty much knew everyone that Emily knew and she was sure that she never met either of the two guys sitting across from her. There was no way that she would have forgotten either of their faces. The brothers shared a look before the shorter one answered.

"We knew her when we were younger and kind of fell out of touch a few years ago when her mom died." The shorter one answered after a minute of silence. This response automatically put Alex on edge, Emily's mother had died in a car crash a few years ago and after it happened Emily swore she would never talk to the family that caused it again. She made it seem like it was their fault that Lily Andrews had died.

"Look, if you two are the Winchester brothers then you should probably leave before Emily sees you unless you want to be yelled at so soon after having breakfast," Alex explained quickly. She turned around at that moment and saw that Emily had already placed their order and was currently staring at the three of them in shock. Her face went blank soon after and she walked over to them.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" She asked angrily.

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And there's the chapter! It took forever to finish, darn you school! But I did finish it and that's all that counts. Now, the next chapter won't be up unless I get at least 5 reviews so don't let me down! Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long to finish, but I make no guarantees since I will be busy with school.

Also, I don't own the lyrics in this chapter; they belong to the band Kamelot and the song is Hunter's Season.


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